I was going to say that yeah, I know that corn and squash are full of them. But I just looked up tomatoes, broccoli, and beets. Holy crap!
I’m a Type 1 diabetic and I take my blood sugar about 10 times a day - when I wake up, before each meal, 2 hours after each meal, before bed.
I’m suprised to hear that a medical professional told you not to go “hog wild” on the testing – it’s not like it hurts you or anything (other than, you know, making your fingers hurt!) but it’s so important for control. You don’t want to sit around with a high blood sugar for 6 hours!
As far as getting the blood to flow more easily, try running your hands under warm water for a minute before pricking your finger.
As to carbs – you can use an online carb counter (like http://www.carb-counter.net/search.aspx) to figure out carb counts.
I did the Atkins diet for a long time and lordy, my blood sugars were perfect. It’s not an ideal diet, and you can’t do it forever, but it really showed me the difference between proteins and carbs and how each affected me.
Good luck!
I’m actually not. I think that she wants to introduce me to the world of diabetes gently, rather than plunging me full force into it. I’m still getting used to the idea of testing, and still not sure if I’m doing it right. My docs are going on the principle of “a few small changes at a time.” I’m overwhelmed enough as it is.
Understood. I’ve had Type 1 for 26 years and I still get overwhelmed by it sometimes. 
When you do test, I personally recommend testing before a meal and after a meal – if you don’t test before the meal, you really won’t know how the meal has affected you. If you’re 250 after a meal, you may want to blame the food – but if you were 300 *before *the meal, you’ll actually have a reference point.
Yeah, but remember, most Type 2s have no way to actual FIX that high blood sugar. The majority are on oral drugs, and most of the time just have to wait for the blood sugar to go down on its own (and it does! Imagine that! It goes down WITHOUT FOOKIN’ INSULIN. I can hardly imagine that). That, and watching what they eat and learning what spikes them.
That said, they thought I was Type 2 for a few months, and I tested a lot to get an idea of what I could/could not eat. When I found something that really spiked me, I just avoided it. However, I gather that depending on insurance, this might not be possible for everyone. I recall a lot of Type 2s I talked to were limited to 4 test strips a day per their insurance plan.
To be fair, they can always go take a walk if their blood sugar is too high. My FIL is Type 2 and does that often. But again, I am no Type 2 expert and so I shall zip my lip on the subject.
I get your drift about insurance plans not covering for an obscene amount of testing strips. I remember back in the day when I didn’t have insurance, I was verrrry picking about testing. I’d hoard those strips!
Also, sorry for highjacking your thread, tdn!
As to a suggestion for nom-noms that won’t raise your blood sugar, how about beef jerky, chicken salad, or celery with cream cheese? 
I’ve been told the only foods you can go hogwild on are the leafy greens. Because I really, really enjoy eating handfuls of raw spinach.
True, though it’s not always convenient. But the drugs do work, at least from what I’ve heard, and from my experience before they put me on insulin. You just don’t have as much control over them as you do insulin. But, like you, I’m no expert, and my “type 2” experience is mainly based on them pushing Type 2 drugs into my Type 1 body, which didn’t work so well. So I’ll shut up now too.
Really? I barely dose for all but the starchiest veggies. Carrots/tomatoes/etc, at least in the quantities you eat as a side dish or on a dinner salad, don’t do much to me at all. Potatoes and beets and such, sure, but there’s a lot of non-leafy-green veggies I can eat that I don’t worry about at all. But everyone’s different…
I haven’t read the other responses, so this may have already been covered.
Before you start switching to low carbs, learn about the Glycemic Index. It’s a 1-100 scale that has to do with the speed at which different carbs raise your blood sugar levels. Low-GI foods (including most veggies) are better than high-GI foods (including “white” foods and sugars).
What I do a lot is make a huge salad of various veggies, plus a protein like water-packed tuna, poultry or lean meat. I use lowfat salad dressing (can’t stand fat-free), and the salad’s good for a few meals. But I still have a problem limiting portion sizes.
tdn did they show you how to stick the meaty part next to your fingernail instead of in the sensitive pad?
My go-to snack is microwave popcorn.
Some advice I can give about type 2.
One - What triggers high BG readings for me may be different for you. For instance - if I consume any grains like oatmeal or wheat, my glucose level spikes. However, I can have moderate amounts of brown rice and tomatoes. Your experience might be different. This leads to:
Two - While you are adjusting to a new dietary reality, test about 20 minutes after eating to find out the effect of specific foods to your BG. You’ll learn what you can tolerate and what you need to avoid.
Three - I find that about 45g of carbs is the maximum I can do per meal.
Four - While it will keep the carb intake low, don’t go overboard on fat. Bacon and eggs (and cheese) is tasty, but not every day. And my snack of choice is peanuts.
Five - For me, exercise and weight reduction has the biggest impact on moderating my BG. An hour of brisk walking 5 times per week does wonders.
My A1C was 12.6 when I was diagnosed. It was at 9.0 after 3 months and it’s been at about 6.5 for the last two years.
Testing sucks. It isn’t without pain. But you’ll get better at it. I test 4-6 times per day. First thing in the morning, and pre and post meals.
This helps a lot. I do it on the side of my finger, about even with the bottom (root) of the fingernail.
nonacetone’s advice about warm water is a good one, too, especially in colder weather. If it’s really cold in the house, I’ll also massage the area I’m about to jab a bit before I do the jab, to get more blood into the area. I also find that I can get sufficient blood out of my index and middle fingers, sometimes my ring fingers, and nearly never out of my pinkies.
As far as snacks, if I’m being good about behaving, I try for snacks that aren’t just carbs. Beef jerky works well for me, as do protein bars. Glucerna makes snack bars and shakes for diabetics, though they aren’t cheap. I can find Pure Protein bars at grocery and drug stores (they’re stocked with nutritional supplements and the like), as well as at Costco.
I often work out in the morning, and will have soy breakfast sausage or something like that for breakfast after my workout. I’ll often go to Chipotle for lunch (I get soft tacos, and skip the rice).
All of this probably does seem pretty daunting at first (I know it did for me when I found myself in your shoes, seven years ago). There are obvious changes that you’ll want to make right away…but, as others have said, it’s important to make changes that you can sustain.
Another thing I should note: exercise helps, quite a lot. When I was diagnosed with Type 2, I was pretty sedentary. I started walking more (including getting off the train at an earlier stop, to give me a longer walk to the office), and that did contribute to getting my A1C down below 6. Then, I started running 3 years ago, and that’s had an even bigger impact – I’m now in the low 5s, and my doctor has been able to cut my oral med dosage in half.
OK, my take on things - my diabetic nutrition specialist as given me the following, and keep in mind the limited breakfast and lunch choice is mine -
breakfast
oatmeal with 2 tbsp raisins and a fair amount of cinnamon. I don’t sweeten other than the amount normally in raisins.
morning snack-
typically either 4 baby carrots turned into carrot sticks, or 2 ribs of celery turned into celery sticks or a 4 inch diameter pita with one of those single dose cups of humus from BJs, or a cucumber turned into cuke sticks. Sometimes it might be a dozen large black pitted olives. Sometimes a 100 cal snack pack of some junk food.
lunch -
a chopped salad of about 1 cup of cabbage, and one cup of chopped spinach or romaine, a quarter cup of garbonzo beans or a hard boiled egg chopped [protein] a quarter of a tennis ball sized onion or 2 spring onions chopped, a baby carrot shredded, a couple of sliced radishes if we remembered to get some and 3 tbsp homemade balsamic/olive oil vinaigrette.
I always have my salad, unless we are not at home and then I try to get the closest to a salad I can manage.
midafternoon snack, same type of stuff as the morning
Dinner is a classic 3 plop - 1 portion of meat, 2 portions of vegetables. The usual portion control applies - you can get diabetic portion control help anywhere.
evening snack - I try for something protein, I like deviled eggs, or a piece of cheese, cottage cheese is also good - I cheat and mix a touch of splenda and some cinnamon in for mock ice cream sometimes.
I keep a single serving fruit cup in the bedroom if I wake up a touch hypo in the middle of the night. I do occasionally splurge and we do something fancy for breakfast, mrAru does killer omelettes. About 3 times a year we go out and do restaurant food, generally weddings and I don’t worry about being anal compulsive about the food, if I end up with more than the usual 500 or so calories, it is not the end of the world according to the nutritionist as long as it isn’t more than a couple times a year. I am supposed to get 2000 cal a day max, with the average at 1800 but frequently I drop to 1500 because I end up with something like poached filet of sole with spinach and a cucumber salad which effectively is hard core low calorie.
Can you make an appointment with a nutritionist? Most insurance companies allow for at least one consult, and I know many hospital associated endocrinology units have a consultant on staff for their patients. There used to be a few menu planning websites for diabetics, but the ones I got started with seem to have vanished [this was about 10 years ago=(] but this is a start, though to be honest it is also concerned with cutting as much fat from your diet and I would recommend not being too worried about fat content and don’t bother going for low fat stuff [or getting rid of chicken and turkey skin] as it doesn’t impact your blood glucose. You should be more concerned with the quality of your food, and the calories more than all the low fat crap [typically lowered fat foods have stuff added to replace the fat removed. In salad dressings it tends to be sugars of various types.]
You should concentrate on base foods rather than convenience foods - raw meats, vegetables rather than boxed mixes. Convenience foods tend to have added sodium and sugars that you really don’t need. I would substitute in brown rice or even quinoa for white rice, sweet potatoes for white potatoes. If you can plan a menu for the entire week ahead and stick to it, it is easier to stay on plan because you already have the ingredients and schedule to follow. Do try to take your snacks and lunch to work instead of grazing out of machines and getting fast foods for lunch.
Nor do they taste good. I bought a six pack of the shakes, tried one, and couldn’t finish it. I gave the other shakes to various friends and family members, and NOBODY liked them. They taste like milk that’s gone bad. It’s a pity, because the concept is great…but the execution is poor.
My husband spent a lot of time testing how various foods affected him (there is variation). He’s found that he can get away with more carbs if he’s getting some exercise. I recommend “Type 2 Diabetes: The First Year” or “Diabetes for Dummies”, which we both found quite helpful. We’ve also noted that stress or illness will raise his blood sugar.
I’ve heard that washing your hands in warm water or hanging the hand you’re trying to poke down by your side for a few minutes pre-stab can be helpful. You’ll also want to vary which finger is getting abused and make sure you’re not trying to stab into callus or scar tissue if either is present.
My reaction to them wasn’t quite as negative, but non-diabetic protein bars certainly do taste better than Glucerna’s bars.
See, this is why I couldn’t live as a diabetic:
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I love carbs. I eat pasta a LOT - it’s quick, cheap (one pot lasts for almost a week of meals), and, of course, tasty.
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I drink soda - about four times a week. (I suppose I could switch to diet, or just drink more water - but water bores me to tears.)
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I’m sedentary. I’ve complained about my complete inability to get up and do something, especially with my schedule, in other threads. Maybe if I move closer to work someday and don’t have the hour-long commute that might help…
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I’m getting older. (But then, who isn’t?)
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I hate needles.
Of course, all of this (except the last) is exactly why I’ll probably BECOME diabetic one of these days. At least I’m not overweight (or at least 90% sure I’m not - I haven’t weighed myself or had a checkup in too long). Still, becoming one would mess up my life something fierce (but then, I can’t be the only one) and cost me a lot of money…
Something that’s going to affect your sugar levels is how the food has been cooked. Carbs are carbs are carbs, but a cooked veggie is “predigested” (the complex molecules have been broken up by cooking) and will be absorbed faster than a raw veggie. Part of the reason you need to check how different items affect you is that a lot of the information you’ll get is incomplete (occasionally to the point of being erroneous for the actual application); part of it is that different people absorb the same meals differently.
Two things which greatly affect my overweight, bad-bones, 70+yo mother’s values: alcohol (shouldn’t touch the damn stuff) and exercise (one hour of “gym for old folks” or “floating around in the pool doing occasional stretches” do wonders).
Leaper, try carbonated water. It’s a trick I learned in Switzerland, where my coworkers were firmly divided between “as much gas as possible” and “keep the holes away from my water!” - many of us have come to identify “gas” with “refreshing”, so we find carbonated water more “refreshing” than plain old H2O. It tastes different, too.
Type II here. As others have said, walking works wonders. I’ve also dropped 20 pounds (it was 25 prior to the holidays). I really don’t pay a lot of attention to what I eat, but try to do everything in moderation. Breakfast is usually an egg, a strip of bacon, a piece of whole grain toast w/butter, and a bowl of fruit and non-fat yogurt (nuts too, when I remember) with cinnamon and a squirt of agave syrup. Coffee. Lunch has pretty much become a can of low-fat soup and a few saltine crackers. Dinner is usually a piece of fish or chicken, and a salad with walnuts. Desert is one square of dark chocolate. I try to stay hydrated, also.
At my last checkup, my numbers were all within range (cholesterol, blood sugar, etc.), with an A1C of 6.2. I rarely check my glucose, although the last time I did the 2-hours- after thing, it was 99.